general problems of the 2000 Ford Focus - part 1

2000 Ford Focus se. Consumer writes in regards to engine and electrical problems.

Tl-the contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving, smoke emitted through the vents and discovered that the engine was on fire. The fire department extinguished the fire and informed that the fire initiated at the engine compartment. A police/fire report was not filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 139,000. Djr.

Key wont go into ignition, wheel locked up, have to get locksmith to fix. . . Barely affordable.

While driving the vehicle the electric dash cluster quit working and the vehicle cut off in the middle of traffic. The alternator was replaced then the vehicle did the same thing a few months later. The battery cables were replaced and the battery and the alternator were replaced as a precaution. The vehicle after 4 days and no driving longer that 35 miles a day the same thing happened again while traveling down the interstate.

Car was driving normally, parked my car, tried to restart it and key would not turn. Possibly a broken ignition switch.

Got my daughter her first used car from a dealer, which I should had gone with her to check it out first since an 18 year old would most likely not know anything much of a car besides driving it. You would think buying from a used dealer is safer than buying out in the street. So when we took it out of the lot noticed engine tremble and suspension noise, (too bad no lemon law on used dealer selling this type of cars). After diagnose the engine produced a catalytic convert malfunction code. Also after inspection the Focus needs all four suspension struts. A month later that other suspension noise resulting almost in a accident from a back wheel shaking which came from a back wheel bearing which hub nut was just about off, which would had caused the wheel to come off. I did a search and this are all common problems with the Focus and I believe there was a recall for a back wheel issue. The bad news is that after a while of the recall being issued it is voided or only specific VIN numbers are considered effected ????. The latest encounter is the steering column locking and the key not being able to unlock it. The worst part is that the ignition cylinder would have to be drilled out to be replaced (very interesting since is the first time I seen that). I'm noticing from my experience with Ford vehicles that although in my opinion there engine and transmission are a bit better than most vehicle, is the little parts that one have issues with that ends up costing the most, just saying. So why is it that with many complaints and known issues from previews model years Ford has not attempt to resolve the issues. I bet there would be many other people out there complaining if only they new they can complaint, the question is, is anyone going to do something about it!!!.

Upon starting motor, noise as rocks in a blender and engine would not run. I have learned this a common problem with this motor. Valve seat is defective and valve falls into piston, ruining engine. Ford knows of this defect, but ignores it.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The contact noticed a strong odor when the vehicle was shut off. The vehicle was started and after driving two blocks, smoke was seen coming from the engine. The contact opened the hood and found that a fire had started near the engine. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified and the contact was awaiting a response. The current and the failure mileages were 130,000. A report was taken by the fire department.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. While the vehicle was parked the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic stated there were fractures in the head gasket and the engine would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 130,327.

Total loss of Ford Focus 2000 due to the car fire. No signals of overheat prior to the accident, all fluid levels fine. I was driving for 30 min; when returned home and stopped the car, noticed a white smoke coming from the front of the car. I decided to figure out what happens but did not have time to do that - after I left the car, it was already on fire. Used 1 fire dispenser on it, it did not help; called 911, by the time the fire department came (in about 10 min), the car was burned to the ground.

Daughter bought the 2000 Ford forus on 03/01/2011 from a dealship in wichita, kansas. In April 2011 the rod went through the side of the engine, nearly causing an acident with 3 other cars on the highway between wichita and towanda, kansas. Tow truck took the car to the dealship and was told we would be responsible for 1/2 the cost of another engine and labor, which was over $4,000. 00 (our share would be over $2,000. 00). Still having to pay the loan on a car that is not running and full coverage insurance, cause the car is on a loan through the dearlership. I've called a number of times to the dealership about this problem with no help. I've tried to find out if there was any recalls on the rods going though the engines on this year, make and model of this car. No luck. I looked up the kelly blue book value of this car, in fair condition is only: $1,375. 00 for trade-in-value. Please help if you can!!!!!.

Engine hesitation, loss of power and surging. I lost power and was escorted off the highway by a sheriff deputy .

I went to start my 2000 Ford Focus after the big snow storm to be sure it started and it did, I let it run for a while and when I shut it off and take the key out it was stuck, this is not the first time this has happened. It has not been fixed yet because frankly I just don't have the money to keep sinking into this lousy car.

2000 Ford Focus engine fire on the way to work at 4 am. By time the fire department got there it was fully in flames. Burnt evey thing but the trunk before it was put out.

My husband and I purchased a 2000 Ford Focus for our 20 year old daughter in October 2008, so she would have a means of getting to college and work. On December 22 2008 she was driving with a friend to go to lunch when smoke began coming out from under the hood. She pulled into a parking lot and got out of the car when there was a loud pop and flames shot out,blowing out the windshield and melting the tires etc. The fire department said it was faulty electrical wiring causing an engine fire.

I was driving and I came to a stop sign and when I pressed on the gas to drive off my 2000 Ford Focus just died on me. And this happened like a month ago also. I just didn't say anything. But this is very dangerous that my car doesn't tell me when its overheating,it just turns off. That's not safe.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The vehicle would hesitate driving at any speed. There are times where the engine will rev and it will raise 2 or 4 rpms but the speed of the vehicle will remain the same. She took the vehicle into a shop and was told that there was a problem in the fuel line and that it needed to be repaired. But she decided to check for recalls before making repairs. She went online and founds recalls for her year make and model. She found a recall that explained her exact problems she called the dealership and was told that the recall did not affect her VIN. She believes that her VIN should be included in the recall. The current and failure mileages were unavailable. Updated 09/10/08 the consumer stated the vehicle hesitates and shuts off. Updated 09/11/08.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The rpm would sporadically increase up to 3,000 and caused the vehicle to excessively accelerate. The contact had to downshift the gears in order to stop the vehicle. No lights illuminated on the instrument panel prior to the failure. The vehicle is currently being inspected. The speed was not a determining factor with the failure. The powertrain was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 64,288. Updated 04/14/08. Updated 04/11/08.

My 2000 Ford Focus se's engine has repeatedly died while driving. It has died even at speeds above 60 mph, and has endangered me several times, especially when it happens going around a curve. Luckily I have avoided an accident so far, but it's only a matter of time. This has happened I would say about 50 times. I am too poor to have it fixed, but I have had an engine flush and injector cleaning with no effect.

The vehicle's brakes had to be replaced about every three months. The rear end was unable to be lined up, if so, the vehicle would fishtail back and forth and the consumer would unable to drive the vehicle. The tires were out of round and the vehicle would run rough, especially when going up hills.

Vehicle was recently serviced at the dealership. Consumer parked the vehicle at home and inadvertently the vehicle caught on fire. Consumer called the fire department, and the fire was extinguished. According to the fire department it was an engine fire.

While at a stop the pistons dropped. Consumer managed to pull over, and had the vehicle towed. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.

When driving more than 20 mph the whole front end shook violently. Please provide additional information. Altenator replaced still having problems. Engine will only allow the vehicle to drive 20 mph.

After receiving a recall letter vehicle was taken to dealer for service, and was told the service could not be performed because of a branded title. Previous recall service has been performed.

While driving consumer noticed black smoke coming from the engine. Consumer pulled the vehicle over, opened the hood, and saw that the engine was on fire. Driver was able to put out the flames.

Ford as a TSB on a problem that I am having with my TSB. I just found out that on my Focus the valves are sticking in the guides on the cylinder head and it needs to be replaced. Ford has admitted to me and the car dealership where I purchased the car that this is a default on their part but they refuse to be of any assistance to me. There is much more to this story and I am desparately seeking assistance from someone to guide me as to what to do next. When I spoke to the customer service department at Ford they told me there was nothing they could do and eventually hung up on me.

My Ford Focus engine cuts off with out any notice. I felt very unsafe in this car. The dealership cannot fix the problem. Somebody has to do something about this car before people start getting killed for driving this car. The government should to step-in, because Ford is not doing anything about this problem. I see a lot complaints about this car. In I'm sure there will be plenty more.

At 148 miles told Ford there was a problem with trans, did not believe road tested fro 2 miles and had car for day and a half. Said they designed trans to slip. I continued to drive it in that condition and repeatedly called customer service back and questioned dealers about slip and they said it was designed that way. To say the least trans replaced. Trim and other items falling off car and frod would not replace. More brake jobs than you can shake a stick at. Just got done putting 600. 00 into it when engine threw rod and now has to be replaced for a cost of 3,700. 00. Ford made a bad car nd they know it , but will leave us Focus owners out to hang.

Let's see, where shall I begin. Within month or two of purchase of 2000 Focus sedan it was back in the shop for the front a panel trim. It took 3 times to finally get that right. Also less than 5 months after purchase, windshield had to be replaced due to a stress fracture (was a 1-1. 5 hairline crack which appeared in windshield). The windshield has since been replaced again. While adjusting the rear-view mirror the windshield cracked around the base, apparently from slight pressure of mirror. And just recently, August 2003, I've noticed water drops flying up from above the dashboard. Not sure if windshield is leaking around the bottom base or maybe a. C. Haven't had it checked yet, but it will be in the shop this week for other problems I haven't mentioned yet. It was in shop in late 2001 or early 2002 for throttle problems. While the car was sitting still the engine would race between 2. 5 and 3000 rpms. Fortunately I never used the cruise control during that time. Late 2002 the trunk lock mechanism apparently broke preventing the trunk from shutting properly. It wouldn't latch at all. I have yet to have the wiper motor cover recall fixed. And on different occasions the fuel gauge has read empty, no matter how much fuel you have in the tank. And just when you think nothing else can go wrong, it happens. Me and my wife were shopping this morning on labor day Saturday. We got in the car and I went to start it. My key somehow would not go into the ignition completely, no matter how hard I tried. We eventually call our triple aaa insurance and arrange for a locksmith to come and take a look. He looks at it a second and declares what we fear the worst. Our Focus is the 7th Focus this month he has seen with the same problem. He said that the ignition would have to be replaced by Ford. I believe that this should be a recall. I will never buy another Ford.

Started experiencing problems with the vehicle after purchase. Suddenly in August, all power systems/computer type items began to fail -- power locks, trunk release. Then, car began (and still does) to sputter and shake when stopped/idle until it would shutdown. Also, the radio/cd player would shut off. Checked for tsbs for the vehicle model & year and found at least 15. When I took the car to the dealer (world Ford sandy springs) we were told that they are technical service bulletins and that we would have to pay to have the car repaired. Only official Ford recall notices, not even ntsa recall notices, would be honored. On top of this, we would be expected to pay $90 per complaint batch (the TSB list was batched in to 3 main areas)for diagnostic purposes and if any of the complaints were related to a recall, the $90 would be refunded as applicable. I expressed that if Ford issued a TSB and the ntsa issued a recall notice, then I should not have to pay to have the car worked on.

Have had nothing but trouble with my Focus the brakes wore down while I was on vacation and I was stuck driving for a bit on metal to metal. . . . Which ruined my rotor. . . . . Then the battery after almost 3yrs. Has caused my car to not want to start twice. . . . . . Each time I have had to clean off the built up acid on the battery so that a clean connection can be made. . . . . The paint keeps on chipping, my anteena has become frayed, just recently my car's steering wheel locked up on me and the key wouldn't turn in the ignition. . . . . . It is in the shop as I write this. . . . . And from what I have heard I am not the first person to have had a problem with the cylinder. . . . . . . The car seems to be slugish when on the inerstate. . . . . . . The Focus is a dangerous car and Ford CO. Needs to do something about it. . . . . Jeremy.

The complaint deals with the right side door lock. I took it into mccotter Ford where I bought the car from. They wanted to charge me over $300 to fix it and this is with the expensive warranty package. We could not aford this,so my wife and kids are driving around in a car that the passenger side door that cannot be opened. This cannot be safe, what can we do. The car had between 50 and 60 thousand miles on it,the dealership that we bought the car from is in titusville florida. This occured in 2002.

I have gas leaking under the car and is spraying on the enginge. Was told not to drive car. Lost a half tank of gas within 2 miles.

I purchased a Ford Focus in April 2000. At that time I opted for the 3 year/36000 coverage. Later in that year I was involved in the rear wheel bearing recall and brought the car in for repairs. Last week my left rear wheel bearing went-and as the mechanic said "I'm suprised your wheel didn't come off". I contacted Ford customer service and was informed that since I was no longer under warranty protection (vehicle has 40,000 miles) I was no longer covered, and the customer service representative proceeded in trying to offer me extended coverage for my car. I feel that since they "tried" to fix the problem and didn't -that they should still be resposnsible for the repair. There is no reason a wheel bearing should fail after only 40,000-especially when I had between 12-15,000 miles on the car at the time of initial recall/repair.

I have been in the shop about 7 times during the last 3 years due to problems with my new Focus. The clutch failed at 6700 miles, along with the brakes, and things got worse from there. The front windshield leaked water into the roof, the fuse on the fan/air conditioning system melted, and the brake pads were replaced numerous times. Also, the fabric on the seats caused me to get shocked every time I got out of the car. Ford's lack of customer service was painfully obvious as well during these repairs. I ultimately traded in my car for a competitor's car and I'm feeling much better now.